Salzburg International Conferences on Syriac Christianity in China and Central Asia

For more than 20 years, the Salzburg International Conferences on Syriac Christianity in China and Central Asia have constituted a leading international conference series and one of the world’s foremost interdisciplinary networks dedicated to the study of Christianity along the historical Silk Road.

The conference series began with an initial meeting organized by Roman Malek and Peter L. Hofrichter, which at the time was not conceived as an ongoing initiative. Its continuation, consolidation, and further development into a sustained research focus and international network were subsequently led by Dietmar W. Winkler and Li Tang, under whose direction it evolved into a long-term, interdisciplinary project.

Bringing together experts from philology, archaeology, Sinology, Syriac Studies, Sogdian and Uyghur Studies, history, theology, and the study of religions, the conferences explore interreligious and intercultural contacts between the Middle East, Central Asia, and China. At the core of the discussions are historical, manuscript, and epigraphic sources, as well as linguistic analyses and archaeological findings, all of which provide new insights into the spread and significance of Christianity across Asia. By fostering interdisciplinary exchange, the conference series makes a substantial contribution to international research in this highly specialized field.

Following the initial conferences held in Salzburg, we – together with cooperation partners such as the Kazakh Academy of Sciences (Almaty) and the UNESCO Institute for Central Asian Studies (Samarkand/Uzbekistan) – decided to move into the region itself. This step aimed to broaden the interdisciplinary scope by actively involving Central Asian scholars and integrating their perspectives. As a result, additional networks have emerged, including collaborations such as the International Conferences on Turfan Studies in China.